I know it’s been a while since I posted, so if anyone actually reads this, hello! Happy to see you!

This week was the single biggest confluence of deadlines I’ve had since I was at university and had to deal with final exams and papers. I have learned not to procrastinate and I work well under pressure, but at some point the sheer volume of work can be a bit overwhelming.

I don’t know if anybody’s interested, but when I have multiple ongoing projects, I do this:

Figure out deadlines for everything and count the number of days I have to work on each project (one is due in ten days, one fifteen, one three, etc.)

Break each project down and determine how much I want to do per day. For example, fifty pages per day on project one, thirty pages per day on project two, seventy pages per day on project three.

Work a little bit on the active projects every day (I’m happiest with three, but I can juggle more than that if necessary).

Try to build in “rest days” for each project, so that I have a couple of days to a week between the first and second passes on a manuscript. That way I’m looking at it with fresh eyes.

Vary the type of work I do. I like to do some editing, some proofreading, and some typesetting, to keep myself alert and focused.

I find that if I spend too much time on a single project per day, I can lose my focus. Sometimes I find that I’m reading rather than editing, and that’s not fair to anybody. Another benefit of working on multiple projects simultaneously is that if I miss a day, it’s easier to make it up. I’ve not lost a full day on any one project, so I can spread out the extra over the next few days. Or if I get a rush job and need to divert all my time to that project, I won’t be completely behind on everything else because I’ll have started work on each project ahead of its deadline.

Finally, if I work a little bit on a few projects every day, it makes the whole thing less stressful for me because I know I’m accomplishing something. Instead of looking at the big picture and hyperventilating, I can look at the goals I’ve set for the day, and if I reach those I know the big picture is coming together.

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Stacia Seaman